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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26994967">Out of the Woods</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ephemeralstark/pseuds/ephemeralstark'>ephemeralstark</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Whumptober 2020 [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, Injured Peter Parker, Kidnapped Tony Stark, Mission Fic, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker is a Little Shit, Peter Parker is a Mess, Protective Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Rescue Missions, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Whump, Whumptober, Whumptober 2020, injured Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 03:49:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,999</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26994967</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ephemeralstark/pseuds/ephemeralstark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p><i>“What?” Peter asked, “what’s wrong?” <br/>“I think…” Mr. Stark paused as he pulled himself into a sitting position and pulled up his trouser leg and pushed down his sock, “I hope it’s just a sprain.” <br/>“Did we bring a first aid kit?” Peter asked. <br/>“Do you know first aid?” Mr. Stark asked with a raised eyebrow. </i><br/>-<br/>Peter and Tony end up in serious trouble when a simple mission goes horribly wrong and Tony ends up being kidnapped by the bad guys. The only problem is, Peter wasn't exactly told what the mission entailed and now he's blindly trying to rescue his mentor and complete whatever the heck he's meant to complete.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Peter Parker &amp; Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Whumptober 2020 [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949887</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>74</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I'm so behind on Whumptober :DDDDD</p>
<p>day 7 - support</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Come on, Underoos,” Mr. Stark shouted backward towards  Peter as he trudged up the beaten track a couple of hundred feet behind his mentor. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>‘We have some recon to do for a mission’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>Mr. Stark had said, </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘I was wondering if you’d want to tag along?’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>he said, </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘it’ll be a really good experience for you if you’re wanting, that is’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>he’d said. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Peter remembered the conversation well, and at no point had the man said </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘do you want to spend your Friday night - when the crime in Queens is most active -trekking up a hell mountain in the middle of nowhere while carrying a night’s worth of supplies and a ridiculously oversized two-person tent on your back?’ </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Peter wouldn't have been as eager to join if he’d heard all of that, but he’d thought that it would be an important mission. He’d thought he would be out with the Avengers, he’d thought that they would be sneaking around a laboratory somewhere, or planning an entrance into a high-security facility. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn't think he would be listening to Mr. Stark loudly play Led Zepplin while he chatted about business statistics mixed with Iron Man suit design information - although Peter wasn't so mad about the last part, it </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>interesting to hear. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was just a little worried that Mr. Stark didn't think he was ready for the serious stuff, was this all an attempt to keep him out of the way of the real action? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If you fall behind, I leave you,” Mr. Stark called in an annoying sing-song voice that made Peter’s eyes narrow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a disgruntled sigh, Peter forced himself to jog forward, ignoring the burn in his calves as his body protested the fact he was jogging up a steep hill. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You wouldn't really leave me,” Peter declared as he fell into step beside Mr. Stark, “I know you wouldn't.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Really? What makes you so sure?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, May would kill you for one,” Peter said, “and for two, you seem to forget that I met Miss. Potts last week and she’s smitten with me.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She thinks you’re adorable,” Mr. Stark agreed, his face twisting in disbelief, “I can’t believe she actually said that, hasn’t she seen you scoff three large margarita pizzas in ten minutes?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” Peter said as though that should have been obvious, “of course she hasn’t, we only get pizza on workshop nights when we forget to actually go eat, and ever since she realised that she’s been having F.R.I.D.A.Y. remind us periodically to eat and drink.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean that is probably a good thing,” Mr. Stark admitted, “you’re a growing kid and I’m a growing disaster, we need all the help we can get.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“True,” Peter mumbled, before looking around, swearing that the trees were moving ominously around them due to the low light of the evening, “what are we actually doing?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hiking,” Mr. Stark said brightly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But I thought-” Peter started but was instantly cut off. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your Aunt was very happy about us getting out you know,” Mr. Stark said in a forced conversational tone, “I think she was just really glad that we’re doing something that doesn't mean we spend the day cooped up in the workshop.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mr. Sta-” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course, Pepper was more anxious about it,” Mr. Stark continued as though Peter hadn't attempted to interrupt, “apparently she doesn't think we’re capable of climbing a mountain, camping for one night, and then making our way home tomorrow.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Really?” Peter wondered, giving up on questioning the man who was obviously not willing to answer any questions.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Mr. Stark said, “jokes on her though, we’ll prove her wrong when we make it home tomorrow.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If we make it home,” Peter mumbled. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s the spirit.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Peter frowned to himself, why was Mr. Stark acting so… weird? They were meant to be on a mission, and yet, here they were hiking with the intention of also camping - it didn't seem very mission like and from the way Mr. Stark was talking, there wasn't much for them to investigate. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But…  just because he wasn't giving away that there was something going on, didn't mean Peter was at ease. His Spidey-Sense was thrumming away in the background as he tried to rethink everything they’d been saying in order to try and pick up on clues about what was happening because it was obvious that </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span> was. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So they kept walking, and Peter’s calves kept burning, and the bag on his shoulders kept digging in like it was making a permanent home on his back. He supposed that if Mr. Stark wasn't going to tell him what was going on, he would just have to trust him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So that’s what Peter decided to do, and it wasn't going too terribly until Mr. Stark fell. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Peter’s Spidey-Sense called out in alarm quickly and he reached out to try and catch the older man but was unfortunately unsuccessful - he watched with horror as Mr. Stark hit the ground with a dull thud and a groan of pain. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fuck,” came the muffled groan, which made Peter jump into action. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mr. Stark?” he asked quickly, squatting down beside the man and waving his hands above him frantically, looking for a way to pull him up or move him without hurting him, but unfortunately he didn't know what was sore. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah ya fucker,” Mr. Stark moaned as he rolled onto his back, face contorted with pain.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What is it?” Peter asked, face pinched with concern. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shit,” Mr. Stark muttered, “this wasn't meant to happen.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Peter asked, “what’s wrong?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think…” Mr. Stark paused as he pulled himself into a sitting position and pulled up his trouser leg and pushed down his sock, “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>hope</span>
  </em>
  <span> it’s just a sprain.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did we bring a first aid kit?” Peter asked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you know first aid?” Mr. Stark asked with a raised eyebrow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, well, no, not really,” Peter admitted, “but we could wrap it or something, I guess?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You guess?” Mr. Stark questioned. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you have any better suggestions?” Peter wondered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, no, but I don't care about wrapping it,” Mr. Stark said gruffly, obviously trying to put on a tough exterior to prevent Peter from seeing him in pain but he wasn't fooling anyone, much less the young hero, “come on, pull me up.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Should you really be standing on it?” Peter asked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Does it look like I care?” Mr. Stark asked, “besides, when did you get your medical degree?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Touche,” Peter mumbled as he gripped Mr. Stark’s forearm and helped to pull him off the ground, the man stumbled with the pain and Peter was quick to pull his arm around his shoulders to prevent him from tumbling back to the ground. “You can hold onto me, I’m strong enough, I promise.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think we should head home, Pete,” Mr. Stark said, tension in his voice, “we can’t do this if I can’t walk.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I figured,” Peter said, wasn't that obvious? Why would they continue to hike when Mr. Stark was so obviously in pain? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was when he heard something that sounded promising; the rumbling of an engine and the crunching of rocks and dirt beneath tyres was approaching. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Mr. Stark I think there’s a car coming this way,” Peter said, “maybe it’s some kind of ranger or rescue team patrolling.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re certain it's a car?” Mr. Stark asked with a frown. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Positive,” Peter said surely, the engine was getting closer and closer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We need to hide,” Mr. Stark said, “now!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, why?” Peter asked, “we’re just hiking, and you’re hurt! They could help, maybe they could drive us back to the bottom?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Peter, you need to get into the trees, now,” Mr. Stark said seriously, all traces of lighthearted joking gone from his face. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We can't,” Peter said seriously as he looked at the extremely uneven ground that lay to their sides, it was littered with rocks and tree branches and roots, there was no way they would make it, not with Mr. Stark’s ankle. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not we,” Mr. Stark said, “you.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Me?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“On your own.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Peter asked, freezing in place, “no!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kid, you can’t pick now to argue,” the engine was even louder, Peter half expected it to appear around the corner at any moment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not leaving you,” Peter said. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not asking.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can’t-” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now, Peter!” Mr. Stark whisper-shouted, Peter was taken aback. The last time Mr. Stark had actually yelled at him had been when he’d fucked up with the ferry, so to see such a level of anger coming from him now made him concerned. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was definitely something more going on. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Feeling as though he would regret his actions, Peter carefully let go of Mr. Stark, making sure the man didn't just immediately fall to the ground before hesitantly walking over to the trees that surrounded him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Faster, please, kid,” Mr. Stark said quickly, “trust me.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Despite his fear, Peter did, so he moved further into the trees, thankful for the darkness that surrounded him and meant that he wouldn't actually have to hide so much. No one would see him in the night time, not surrounded by trees and bushes, he was safely hidden. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It seemed as though he had followed Mr. Stark’s instructions just in time as a pair of headlights immediately came around the curve in the tracks, illuminating Peter’s mentor who raised a hand to protect his eyes from the beam, the vehicle stopped in the middle of the tracks, but the driver didn't turn the engine off or make any moves to get out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is private property, identify yourself.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, I was hiking,” Mr. Stark said, not answering the demand, “and I think I sprained my ankle on a rock or something.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How did you get in here?” The person in the car shouted, “you shouldn't be here!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I shouldn’t?” Mr. Stark asked, and Peter could </span>
  <em>
    <span>hear </span>
  </em>
  <span>the lie in his question, the falsities that were slipping from him, “I’m terribly sorry, I was just trying to hike and camp you know? I saw this girl do it on YouTube and my fiancee wasn't interested in trying it, so I thought I’d give it a go by lonesome, ‘what could go wrong?’ I asked myself, and well, I found out.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re going to have to search you,” the person said, ignoring Mr. Stark’s fake story as someone got out the passenger side of the car.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, that’s not necessary,” Mr. Stark said shaking his head, “I promise you the worst thing I have is a pretty solid granola bar.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hands up and don’t move,” a woman said, approaching Mr. Stark with a gun raised and aimed towards him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, alright,” Mr. Stark said, “no need to be hasty, I’m not doing anything wrong here.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Holy shit, Ronnie, it’s Tony Stark!” the woman shouted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hiking my ass,” Peter heard the man mutter to himself as he climbed out the car, “shoot him.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” Peter whispered, the word came out strangled, he just couldn't build up enough volume to shout it, not when he was so afraid for the other man’s life. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mr. Stark let out a strangled scream and Peter watched him start to convulse - he was slightly relieved to see that it was merely a taser gun, but still, watching Mr. Stark collapse to the ground like that was horrifying. He didn't realise that he needed to move and help until they were lifting him off the ground. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pushed himself forward, only for a tree root to catch his foot sending him careering towards a large rock sticking out of the ground, he was knocked out before he could try and change the course of his fall, he didn't even have a chance to scream. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Peter woke as water began to drop on his face, he ran the back of a hand across his forehead without opening his eyes and grumbled in annoyance as it made the dampness worse rather than better. His hand was wet too? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a disgruntled sigh, he sat himself up and blinked against the harsh light that invaded his senses and made his head ache. He could have sworn that it was the early hours of the night, how could the sun already be so high in the sky, and did it really have to be raining? And what could that mean for… </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Mr. Stark!</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Peter scrambled to his feet, gasping as pain ran through his head at the movement.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come on, Peter, get a grip,” he told himself before stumbling forward, the grips on his boots sliding through the wet mud. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>God, his head </span>
  <em>
    <span>hurt, </span>
  </em>
  <span>was it meant to be that painful? What had even happened, he could barely remember. He just knew that Mr. Stark was in danger and he needed to move, he needed to run and find him and help. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But- </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah!” Peter shouted, raising a hand to his head, it was tacky and when he pulled his hand away it was covered in a nauseating red. That was probably bad, he decided, but there was nothing he could do about it at that moment because Mr. Stark was in trouble and he was the only one who knew. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So, pushing aside the pain and his fears about the blood that painted his fingers, he forced himself back onto the track that he’d been complaining about walking up not all that long ago, and he looked at the deep tyre tracks that had carved their way into the soft mud. He’d hoped to see that whoever had been driving had turned and headed down the hill, but his luck wasn't that good - he was going to have to continue up the hill with his pounding head and sore legs. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This sucks,” he muttered, feeling better for audibly voicing his grievances, “everything sucks.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Apparently, he had spoken too early, because whatever kind of vehicle the people who took Mr. Stark had used could go off-road - or rather off track - and despite this, they were still continuing uphill. So not only did Peter have to embrace a more difficult hike, but he also had to deal with the incline.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, I’m a dumbass,” Peter muttered as he remembered his phone was in his pocket. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>How much time had he wasted trying to fight the </span>
  <span>cephalalgy and forcing himself to trek uphill, when he could have simply called for help. If something happened to Mr. Stark in the time it took him to realise that, it would all be his fault. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Except- </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” the world fell from his lips without permission as little more than a whimper, as he stared at the tiny symbol declaring him to be out of signal range, “no, no, no, no, NO!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He no longer cared who heard him, what could they do? Kidnap him and take him to wherever Mr. Stark was? At least then he could work on the rescue without having to find the damn place. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello!” he shouted at the top of his lungs, pressing a fist to his forehead as his brain felt like it was melting from the force and volume of his shout, “help me! Someone please!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He decided not to follow the offroad tracks, instead, he doubled back on himself and following the tyre marks back down the mountain so he could be easily found. Was he being stupid? Was he screwing everything up and putting himself and Mr. Stark in more danger? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Help me!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Would he have been better off trying to find out where Mr. Stark was being held? Would he have been able to help the older man better? But he’d already gone too far, it was too late to change his plans, he was sure that there was something more going on than he was aware of, which meant he was also sure that there were eyes and ears everywhere. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>How else had they caught Mr. Stark? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But it did pose the question; why had they left Peter behind? Surely if they had seen Mr. Stark then they would have seen him too? So why not just take them both at the same time and save themselves another journey? None of it made any sense. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And if they were watching then why hadn't anyone come for Peter yet? Unless… they weren't watching? Maybe that had been a routine patrol they were doing when they’d taken his mentor. Which meant Peter hadn't ruined the element of surprise that he’d been holding onto. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He could still track the vehicle, he could still sneak into whatever facility Mr. Stark was being held in, he could still turn this around and save him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Identify yourself!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Shit! </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, hey!” Peter said with a smile and a wave at the truck that he hadn't even realised was behind him, how had he missed that? Why hadn't his Spidey-Sense warned him? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re on private property, identify yourself!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m uh Pet- Peter,” he stammered, looking at the three men who were in the truck, each of them heavily armed, he needed a lie and he needed one </span>
  <em>
    <span>now</span>
  </em>
  <span>, “I was hiking with my dad and I went off the tracks to take some photos on my phone, and I got lost and I don't have a signal to call him. Have you seen him?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Peter,” one of the men repeated as he climbed out the passenger side door of the truck, “do you realise you shouldn't be hiking here?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, Sir,” Peter said, hoping that if he was polite he wouldn't be tased like Mr. Stark, “I’m very sorry, Sir, my dad thought it would be fun to avoid the traditional trails, we were meant to be taking it back to nature.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re the second person we’ve found who was hiking here in the last twenty-four hours,” the man continued, “is that a coincidence?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Must be,” Peter said, forcing himself to appear nonchalant as he shrugged, “I can’t imagine it being anything else. But, back to my dad, do you guys have security cameras or something we can use to track him?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is a forest on a mountain,” the man said, “why would we put cameras in the trees?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right, yeah, that makes sense,” Peter said with a sigh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was perfect, they didn't know that he was with Mr. Stark, there was nothing tying them together - he hadn't completely lost everything. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, wh’t’re you doin’?” Peter’s voice was muffled by a slightly sweet, chemically smelling cloth that was pressed against his mouth and nose.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He struggled violently, trying to kick, push, scream, do anything to escape, but he had a sneaking suspicion that the cloth against his face was coated in chloroform and he wasn't going to be able to fight that - no matter how much super-strength he had. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The world started to fade around the edges but that didn't stop him, he lashed out with his final reserves of energy, hearing a muttered, “ouch, this fucking brat just-” and everything disappeared into nothing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Waking up with a sore head was pretty quickly becoming old, but as it happened, Peter was realising that he would rather wake up lying in the mud and grass with a headache than wake up strapped to a chair with a stiff neck and a headache. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah,” he grumbled to himself as he rolled his head and tried to loosen his muscles. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His wrists were tied to the arms of the chair with a strange looking rope that had something silver entwined through it, and he briefly was able to see the same thing tying his feet to the legs of the chair before he was forced to close his eyes against a wave of nausea.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Welcome back to the land of the living,” a man with a thick Minnesota accent said, and Peter couldn't stop his lips from quirking upwards, “what’s so funny, Kid?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nothing,” Peter lied, “it’s an involuntary response to stress.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re stressed? Any reason for that?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, I was hiking with my dad,” Peter said, keeping his lie going - would Mr. Stark be amused or offended by the role he’d been forced into? “Then I woke up here, tied to this chair and I’m really confused, what happened?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s your dad’s name?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ben,” Peter said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you sure about that?” the man asked him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh yeah, he’s my dad, why would I be wrong?” Peter asked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And what does he look like?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s got sandy brown hair, green eyes, he wears these weird round glasses that would make normal people look a bit like Harry Potter, but surprisingly they work on him, and he has a strange love for plaid shirts,” Peter said with wide innocent eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you sure?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course I’m sure, why do you keep asking?” Peter asked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Because I think you’re lying,” the man said, “and because we picked up a certain Tony Stark yesterday and I think he’s actually your dad and I think he was bringing you here to try and convert you to his way of thinking.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait,” Peter muttered, trying to buy himself time to process everything that had been said, “Iron Man is </span>
  <em>
    <span>here</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Iron Man is your dad.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, he’s not, but that’s so cool that you think so,” Peter said, “can I meet him? Please?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, what you can do is stop lying,” the man said, “we know you are Peter Stark, Tony Stark’s hidden son, we know that you probably had a million secret weapons on you when we caught you sneaking around our grounds, and we know that you’ve probably been trained for this situation, we are not fools.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, yeah, you kinda are,” Peter said, “I’m not a Stark and if I had hidden weapons, wouldn’t you have found them?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lying is wrong you know,” the man said, ignoring Peter’s point about the weapons, “although given your bloodline it doesn't surprise me that it comes so easily to you, so I’ll give you two options; tell me what you and your father were doing here, or sit in isolation until you break?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Those aren’t good options because I don't know Tony Stark,” Peter said, hoping that he sounded desperate enough to be believable. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well then young Stark, I hope you enjoy the company of yourself,” the man said as he turned and walked away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, no!” Peter called after him, tugging against the rope that confined him to the chair - he couldn't even budge an inch, “come back, I’m not a Stark! I need to find my dad!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But the man didn't listen and PEter watched as the large metal door swung shut behind him, a heavy sounding bolt slipping into place on the other side. He was trapped. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The room he was in had no windows and only one door, which meant that even if he managed to escape from the chair he was stuck in, there was no chance of him escaping the room until someone re-entered, and he had no idea when that would be. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was nothing on the walls, no grates, no cameras, and only the one naked bulb that dimly lit the room. This room would totally fail fire safety regulations, Peter decided with a sigh. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Sorry, Mr. Stark, I think I messed up big time here, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Peter thought, not wanting to actually voice the apology in case someone was listening. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>How long would they leave him there on his own? How long would he be forced to sit in isolation? For the first time since he’d lost his mentor, Peter started to wonder whether he would ever be able to find him again. He had no idea what kind of situation he’d gotten into, which meant that he was weak and ignorant - it would take everything he had to save Mr. Stark and get them both home again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Peter just wasn't convinced he was up to it, he wanted to go home, he wished they’d never left the workshop. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I hope you enjoy :D you can find me on tumblr @<a href="ephemeralstark.tumblr.com">ephemeralstark</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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